100 Creatives: Mr. SINched

What They Do: Kenney Arocha and his wife Michelle, better know to the goth community as Mr. and Mrs. SINched, specialize in designing and producing extremely high-end corsetry, fetish wear, and dark fashion. These aren't the cheap corsets that you'll find in Hot Topics. Each of the items handmade pieces features spring steel boning, steel busks, and steel lacing bones. We can guarantee that garments will give pretty much anyone a wasp waist, handle all kinds of abuse for years to come, and are as beautiful as they are unique.

Why They Like It: Kenney and Michelle enjoy the fact that they can produce high fashion apparel for people without supermodel frames. Many of their private clients are women who are unable to find clothes off the rack, or are transgendered.

"We're most proud of the reaction someone gets when they are laced into their corset for the first time," said Michelle. "We love the exclamations of 'oh my gosh, look at my waist!' or the surprise they have at how comfortable a custom corset can feel."

Model: Kaia Bellanca

What Inspires Them: Naturally, the Victorian era is a big influence on Kenney and Michelle. Nothing screams "lace me tight, and by the way I never touch myself no matter how much I want to," like that particular span of years. Pretty much any time period that required structured undergarments is open season for influencing their work. From the modern world they enjoy the work of Alexander McQueen and Mother of London.

If Not This, Then What: Mr. SINched has been involved in promoting local concerts at Numbers, specifically the Faith and the Muse show last year that the band released as a live DVD.

Apart from sponsoring musical acts, Kenney enjoys studying physics, and Michelle would like to pursue taxidermy or forensic entomology. The couple is active wildlife rescuers who work tirelessly with exotic animals.

If Not Here, Then Where: "Sorry, Houston is our only choice," said Michelle. "Everything we need is here. We love the fact that there are so many talented people here and it's so easy to get whatever materials we need to do our work. We would much rather collaborate with local models, photographers, hair and makeup artists here than anywhere else in the world. They can all come here though and we can do some stuff.

What's Next: A mysterious project called Six Six SINched. Corsets and Satan references? Sign us up.

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